Storage of blood prior to dna extraction - (Apr/09/2008 )
I will be sampling in a very remote area later this year and will be taking blood samples. They cannot be immediately sent back to Europe so they'll possibly sit in some customs warehouse for a long time, not being kept cold. Is there any method of storing blood that doesn't involve freezing or drying it out on paper? I have to have large quantities for my protocols.
Alternatively, does anyone know of an easy way to extract the samples in the field and properly store the extracts (without having to use a freezer) while exporting them? I might have access to a centrifuge....if I buy one and ship it over before me.
What are you intended to do with the blood later? You do PCR or RT-PCR?
How remote your are will be? Are yu goig into jungle to meet indogenous people where you have no assess to electricity?
How long you expect your sample will be deliver back to Europe?
How remote your are will be? Are yu goig into jungle to meet indogenous people where you have no assess to electricity?
How long you expect your sample will be deliver back to Europe?
I will be doing long range PCRs for whole mtdna sequencing and some snps/microsats as well as snp chips so I need good quality dna.
I will be very remote for a while...with indigenous people in east asia. I will have access to electricity once I'm back in the main city...and they have a freezer, but no centrifuge yet. I'm not sure how long it will take to get my samples back but it's possible it could take a few months depending on customs.
thanks...
You can blot the blood onto filter paper, as is done for genetic testing of newborns (not 100% certain, but I would expect that would still preserve the mtDNA. You can test that in your home lab before you go).
If you can get hold of a small 12V refrigerator and some solar cells, you should be able to keep your samples cool for your field trip. You may even be able to keep the blood in tubes, assuming you're not trying to collect from the whole tribe!!
If you can get hold of a small 12V refrigerator and some solar cells, you should be able to keep your samples cool for your field trip. You may even be able to keep the blood in tubes, assuming you're not trying to collect from the whole tribe!!
thanks for the reply....sorry, been in the field for a while. but not to collect those blood samples yet.
i have looked into the filter paper method (fta, etc) but i do not think i would get as much dna as i want. i'll be in very remote villages in siberia for much of the trip and traveling around so taking a fridge is not practical. additionally, they'll probably sit in customs for a while (maybe months) before they get back to my lab.
has anyone ever tried spinning them down to separate the samples then taking the cells? or can anyone suggest another method for storing blood samples long term without degradation?
best..